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2019-05-03: News Headlines

Adam Lee(2019-05-03). Climate Change legislation passes the US House.naacp.orgH.R. 9, which was authored by Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL), who is also the Chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, would prohibit the U.S. from withdrawing from the accord and also would require the administration to develop a plan for the U.S. to meet its voluntary commitments under the Paris Agreement. …

Jake Johnson(2019-05-03). Pointing to Disastrous History, Sanders Warns Against Military Action in Venezuela.theantimedia.com(CD) — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's threats to take military action in support of right-wing coup plotters in Venezuela. The Vermont senator joined the chorus of progressive members of Congress and advocacy groups warning that U.S. intervention would only worsen political turmoil in Venezuela—and could potentially spark an all-out civil war. "The Trump administration …

susan_p(2019-05-03). Spanish elections: Important battle won against the right.greenleft.org.au The question on everyone's lips in the last week of the Spanish election campaign was just how strongly the filthy brown tide of reaction would run — encapsulated in the vote for the racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, anti-feminist, pro-gun and, above all, anti-Catalan outfit Vox. | The average of legal polling, allowed by the Central Electoral Board until one week before the vote, had Vox at 11.2%, yielding around 30-35 seats in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. | However, illegal and internal party polls in the last week of the campaign — or deliberately scary leaks about them — were assigning…

Jason Ditz(2019-05-03). Senate Fails to Override Trump's Veto on Yemen War Resolution.theantimedia.com(ANTIWAR.COM) — Calls to reassert Congressional authority over US war-making failed to muster enough votes to override President Trump's veto of the Yemen War Powers resolution, which demanded Trump withdraw US involvement from the unauthorized war. The vote was 53-45, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override. Opposition to the war was driven by the war crimes …

Ron Jacobs(2019-05-03). Making (and Raising) Babies in the USA.counterpunch.org In recent months, statements by two very different politicians regarding the act of bearing and raising children have caused a fair amount of controversy. The first comment was from Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who remarked that many people in her generation were hesitant to bring children into a world facing possible climate catastrophe. Her comment was More

susan_p(2019-05-03). Kanaky: Independence forces set their sights on 2020 referendum.greenleft.org.au The struggle for self determination in New Caledonia (Kanaky) was boosted last November, when more than 43% of the population voted to support independence from France in a referendum. A second independence referendum will be held next year. | The FLNKS (The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), a pro-independence alliance of political parties met in March to plan for the general elections in May and to prepare for the 2020 referendum. Green Left Weekly's Susan Price spoke with FLNKS representative in Australia, Charles Wea about the congress and the referendum campaign. | *** | What is the signific…

Democracy Now!(2019-05-03). Headlines for May 3, 2019.democracynow.orgPelosi Accuses Barr of Lying to Congress over Mueller Report, Rep. Nadler Threatens to Hold Barr in Contempt, Over a Million Evacuate as Cyclone Slams Northeastern India, Venezuela Court Orders Arrest of Opposition Leader Leopoldo López, Two Activists Arrested Outside Venezuelan Embassy in D.C., EU Threatens to Sue U.S. over New Restrictions on Cuba, Senate Fails to Overturn Trump Veto on Yemen War, Assange to Fight Extradition to the United States, Pentagon Accused of Killing 10x as Many Civilians Overseas as Acknowledged in New Report, Report: U.S. Military Spending Is Higher Than Next Eight Countries Combined,…

Andrew Levine(2019-05-03). Pelosi's Trump Problem and Ours.counterpunch.org Part One Since long before Donald Trump oozed out from the New York tabloids and Atlantic City casinos into the mainstream of American politics, the United States has had no genuine center left political party. What it has had instead is a feckless Democratic Party that is as much a capitalist tool (apologies to Forbes More

Peter Koenig(2019-05-03). Venezuela: Another Failed Coup Attempt.dissidentvoice.orgIn the early morning hours of 30 April, 2019, the self-declared "Interim President", Juan Guaidó, launched what at first sight appeared to be a military coup — Guaidó calls it "Operation Freedom" (sounds very much like a Washington-invented title) — against the democratically elected, legitimate government of Nicolas Maduro. With two dozen of defected armed …

Ted Rall(2019-05-03). The Secret Campaign for 2020: Where the Democratic Candidates Stand on Foreign Policy.counterpunch.orgAmericans vote their pocketbooks. It's the economy, stupid. Absent a war or recent terrorist attack, conventional wisdom believes that voters prioritize domestic issues. Right now, conventional wisdom is correct. According to the latest Pew Research poll, the five most important issues for Democrats are healthcare, education, Medicare, poverty and the environment. So it's not surprising that the major Democratic More

Jeffrey St. Clair(2019-05-03). Roaming Charges: Biden in Plain Sight.counterpunch.org Joe Biden will never again be more popular than he was the day before he entered the presidential race. Still his residual appeal, a misbegotten nostalgia for the Obama years, vaulted Biden 20 points ahead of his nearest Democratic Party rivals in a Quinnipiac poll taken a few days after Biden's announcement (in a creepy video) and his first campaign gigs, where, despite decades of service in the legislative ranks of Wall Street, he cunningly wrapped himself in the union label. More

Staff(2019-05-03). I'm Somali, a US Resident and Muslim, and Ilhan Omar Represents Me.truthout.orgI first heard about Ilhan Omar five years ago. It was 2014, and the political landscape in Minneapolis was contentious among Democrats with threats and behind-the-scenes political attacks fueling party infighting. As a young activist and aid to a local city councilmember, Omar showed up to a Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus at the Brian Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis to support the election of Mohamud Noor, a candidate who would upend the Democratic establishment and so-called Minnesota progressive culture. Noor hoped to unseat a 42-year incumbent, so tensions at the meeting were high. Bickering between t…

Staff(2019-05-03). Biden Supporters Launch $60 Million Dark Money Group.truthout.orgA new "dark money" group is labeling itself the strategy center for Democrats in 2020. | The recently-launched Future Majority will spend up to $60 million to target voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio in the 2020 election, helping Democrats craft messaging that they are fighting for working people while countering conservative talking points, according to Politico. | The 501(c)(4) nonprofit, run by Democratic strategist Mark Riddle, is not required to disclose its donors. The g…

John Feffer(2019-05-03). The Ends of Arms Control.counterpunch.orgMy first trip to Washington, DC to do something other than protest on the streets was to interview for a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, which brings young people to the nation's capital to work on arms control and disarmament. It was 1987, around the time that Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range More

Democracy Now!(2019-05-03). Mass. Judge Refuses to Halt Pro-Palestinian Event at UMass Featuring Roger Waters & Linda Sarsour.democracynow.org "Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights." That's the title of an event set to take place Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After three anonymous UMass students filed a lawsuit to stop the event, a judge ruled Thursday the event can proceed, saying, "There's nothing that comes even close to a threat of harm or incitement to violence or lawlessness." We get an update from Sut Jhally, event organizer and professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts, and Rachel Weber, attorney and member Jewish Voice for Peace, Western Massachusetts chapt…

Staff(2019-05-03). My FOIA Crusade Against a Law-Breaking CIA.truthdig.comOn April 29, my attorney Dan Hardway filed a petition for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review my case, Morley v. CIA. When I filed this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit 16 years ago, I sought certain files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. | The JFK story still resonates, albeit more faintly than it once did. Kennedy was a popular liberal president who, at the time of his death, was challenging the country to embrace civil rights and "a strategy of peace" to end the Cold War. Detested in the…

People's World(2019-05-03). Jewish and Arab Israelis stand together for peace.peoplesworld.org Alon-Lee Green, is co-founder and national director of Standing Together, a grassroots movement uniting Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel. Standing Together is "guided by the principles of peace, equality, and social justice" and recognizes "the interconnections of the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories, the growing social and economic disparities within Israeli society, and the …

Staff(2019-05-03). As Israeli Group Expands, Palestinian Houses Face Demolition.truthdig.comJERUSALEM—For 20 years, Hala Kashour has lived with her husband in what she called "paradise," a bucolic meadow that rolls through a Palestinian neighborhood of east Jerusalem. | The coveted pasture, which Israel calls the "Peace Forest," lies in the crosshairs of a long-simmering conflict between the city government and its Palestinian residents that flared up on a recent spring morning as Kashour, 47, was jolted awake by the sound of bulldozers crushing her neighbor's house. | Some 60 houses in the grassy quarter, known to its 500 residents as Wad Yasul, are facing demolition by Israeli authorities. Earli…

Tyler Durden(2019-05-03). Barr Launches Wide-Ranging Probe Into 2016 FBI Spying on Trump.theantimedia.com(ZH) — Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Panel this week that he has assembled a team at the Justice Department to probe whether the spying conducted by the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016 was improper, reports Bloomberg. Barr suggested that he would focus on former senior leaders at the FBI and Justice …

Consortiumnews(2019-05-03). Orwellian Cloud Hovers Over Russia-gate.consortiumnews.comRay McGovern calls out the void of evidence at the heart of the Senate hearing with Attorney General Barr on Wednesday. By Ray McGovern Special to Consortium News George Orwell would have been in stitches Wednesday watching Attorney General William… Read more →

Derek Royden(2019-05-03). Joe Biden's troubling record.nationofchange.orgOn the basis of this record, the former VP hardly seems like the best person to heal the divisions so fiercely stoked by Donald Trump, the Republican Party and well funded right-wing media over the last few years.

Fight Back(2019-05-03). Wisconsin's May Day celebration demands drivers licenses for undocumented.fightbacknews.orgMadison WI – Thousands gathered on, May 1 in celebration of May Day in Wisconsin's capital. Voces de la Frontera hosted the event and were able to bring in more than 17 different cities to attend. | The march and rally were not only in celebration of May Day, but also to put pressure on Wisconsin Republicans to pass legislation that would allow undocumented people to reinstate their driving licenses. | Hector Hernandez said, "We drove almost three hours this morning to demand drivers licenses. We cannot continue to be harassed by police when all we are trying to do is take our children to school." Currently, Gov…

Ralph Nader(2019-05-03). Trump vs. Congress and Our Constitution.counterpunch.org Donald Trump is the most impeachable president in American history. Many Democrats, however, are running away from the word "impeachment" for tactical political reasons. Some Democrats say they have a sworn duty under the Constitution to present articles of impeachment for a vote in the House of Representatives, regardless of the refusal by the Republican More

Satya Vatti(2019-05-03). Proposed new census question steps up Trump administration's racist attacks on immigrants.liberationnews.org Given the track record of the U.S. government, with its racist history of deportations, incarceration and family separations under both the Democratic and Republican parties, the citizenship question on the census is sure to incite anxieties and fear among immigrants who are repeatedly scapegoated by politicians for mass unemployment and poverty that are in fact products of the capitalist economic system.

Rob Urie(2019-05-03). Environmental Crisis, Oil Geopolitics and the Trump Diversion.counterpunch.org America in 2019 is a very strange place. The problems of the age: looming environmental calamity, the threat of nuclear annihilation and accumulating class tensions, keep being shoved to the side through diversionary tactics. No sooner had a range of left programs been consolidated under the banner of a Green New Deal than establishment Democrats More

Robert Fisk(2019-05-03). What Past Civil Wars Tell Us About the Future of Syria.counterpunch.org When Syrian government soldiers first recaptured the small village of Deir Hafar from Isis in 2017, they found the black-painted but hurriedly abandoned Islamic "court" strewn with piles of documents. These hundreds of pages contained terrible proof of how the Syrian civilians there had behaved under at least three years of Isis occupation. I arrived in More

Paul Kawika Martin(2019-05-02). Failing to Override Trump on Yemen, Congress Must Keep Pushing.peaceaction.orgWashington, D.C. — May 2, 2019 — In response to the Senate failing to secure the two-thirds majority vote necessary to override President Trump's veto of S.J.Res. 7, legislation directing the president to withdraw U.S. support for the war in Yemen, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released …

unitedEditor(2019-05-02). The Spanish elections and the alleged gains of the "extreme right"uwidata.com The elections in Spain have shown that the country will not follow the populist trends that seem to be blooming across the rest of Europe. The PSOE, the Spanish Socialist Party, a hollow social democratic version of the radical party it once was, retained their hold on power. #SpainElection | #EleccionesGenerales28Abril | Polls have opened …